Private James Heather Gordon was a farmer from Western Australia before he enlisted in the AIF, aged 33 years, in April 1940. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for action near Djezzine (Jezzine) in Syria on 10 July 1941. The night of the attack, Gordon’s company had been pinned down by heavy enemy fire from a fortified position and were unable to reach their objective—'Greenhill'. On his own initiative and under fire, Gordon crawled towards the position. When he reached it, uninjured by what has been described as 'a continuous stream of bullets' and enemy grenades which had burst above him, Gordon leapt into the position, killing the four startled enemy gunners. The objective was ultimately captured as a result of his actions. (AWM 021197A)
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